ECUA advances $10.2m emergency storage tank at Bayou Marcus facility to curb SSOs

ECUA advances $10.2m emergency storage tank at Bayou Marcus facility to curb SSOsThe 6-million-gallon tank will provide critical buffer capacity during severe wet weather events, keeping the Florida utility in compliance with a state consent order.

Talcon Group secured the $10.26 million construction contract, beating out five other bidders.

The project is mandated by a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Corrective Action Plan.

The board authorized an $8.2 million transfer from its inflow and infiltration budget to cover construction costs.

ECUA also approved a $1.5 million electrical upgrade for the facility to prepare for future plant expansion.

The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) in Pensacola, Florida, has awarded a $10.26 million contract to Talcon Group to construct a 6-million-gallon emergency storage tank at the Bayou Marcus Water Reclamation Facility. Approved by the board on April 28, the project is a central component of ECUA's Corrective Action Plan under an amended consent order with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) aimed at reducing sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). Executive Director J. Bruce Woody explained that despite the utility investing over $10 million annually in inflow and infiltration (I&I) reduction, extreme wet weather events and flash flooding can still overwhelm the collection system. The new tank is sized to hold one full day's average daily flow into the treatment plant. "This is kind of a wide spot in the road, so to speak, so that there is less likelihood of overflows by providing a storage spot for excess flow in the line," Woody told the board, adding that the tank will mostly remain empty and can also be used during major facility maintenance. To ensure an adequate construction budget, the board authorized the transfer of $8.2 million from the utility's existing I&I capital project budget into the emergency storage tank fund. During the meeting, board members emphasized the need for proactive public outreach. Recalling a similar emergency tank project on Palafox Street that initially faced vehement neighborhood opposition over odor concerns, board members Lois Benson and Dale Perkins urged staff to communicate clearly with nearby residents that the Bayou Marcus tank is strictly for emergency overflow. The storage tank is part of broader infrastructure upgrades planned for the Bayou Marcus facility. In a separate vote during the same meeting, the board approved a $1.52 million payment to Florida Power & Light Company to design and install a secondary 2000Kva electrical service. Woody noted that the facility has "pretty much maxed out" its current electrical capacity, and the new power feed is a necessary first step as ECUA begins the early design phases for a future expansion of the plant's overall treatment capacity.